bitchy | ‘It did not matter too much’ to Prince William to be ‘knocked out of the spotlight’

All week, royal reporters have been writing “analysis” pieces of Prince Harry’s visit to the UK. These are not supposed to be confused with the royal-commentary clownery, in which various “royal biographers” throw daily hissy fits about the Sussexes for $10 or whatever the going rate is. The analysis pieces are supposed to be high-minded and semi-official. What’s funny about the analysis is that it’s so bittersweet and hilarious. There’s the inevitable recap of How We Got Here, minus the actual history of abuse lodged at Harry and Meghan. Then the reporters sadly note that Harry is still incredibly popular and charismatic, and what a shame it is that he just decided one day to move to California! Well, GB News’ Cameron Walker wrote one analysis and it made me laugh pretty hard, mostly because of the mention of Prince William.

quick forward to 2025, however, and veteran royal journalists tell me they feel a sense of “déjà vu”, particularly after Prince Harry visited Nottingham on Tuesday. The organisation, media operations, and crash barriers all felt like we were covering a royal engagement.

Prince Harry was visiting Nottingham’s Community Recording Studio (CRS), an organisation he’s been supporting for more than a decade, where he announced a £1.1million personal donation to Children in Need to support young people affected by youth violence as an “investment in futures”.

It was clear he wanted to be seen in front of the cameras, and this week marked the first time GB News was invited to officially cover Prince Harry’s work, suggesting he wants to work with the British media, rather than against it.

While a vast majority of the Royal Rota was in Nottingham with Prince Harry on Tuesday, his estranged brother, the Prince of Wales, quietly carried on with his own mission to support young people. He visited Spiral Skills, a Lambeth-based charity, which has received funding from Homewards: the future King’s mission to demonstrate it is possible to end homelessness, making it rare, brief and unrepeated.

Prince William has taken after his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II – never complaining and never explaining. It is unclear how he felt about being knocked out of the spotlight, but I suspect it did not matter too much to him. After all, in the eyes of the British public, the Prince and Princess of Wales remain the most popular members of the Royal Family.

The Duke of Sussex appears to have turned over a new leaf by focusing more on philanthropy in a royal-like way. It is a complete contrast to Meghan, who is living the Californian dream by launching her own commercial business and producing glamorous Netflix shows. Prince Harry is at a crossroads. Let’s see which path he chooses to permanently take.

[From GB News]

The mention of the emotional-support polling is telling. Oh, William doesn’t mind being overshadowed because of some polling numbers that say he’s super-popular! If he’s so popular, why doesn’t anyone turn up at his events? Why aren’t the royal reporters covering William’s busywork events this week? If he’s so unaffected by Harry’s visit, why have William and Kate thrashed around for days, begging for people to pay attention to them? As for what Walker is writing about Harry: “The Duke of Sussex appears to have turned over a new leaf by focusing more on philanthropy in a royal-like way.” Royals do NOT own philanthropy! Philanthropy is not tied to royal titles! By undertaking charitable work, Harry is not begging to “come back to royal work.” At this point, these people are just choosing to be this obtuse.

Please enjoy this video of Peg being the most popular royal as he left his busywork event on Wednesday.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.